Wrench.



G. A., MOINTIRE.

WRENCH.

APPLIOATION FILED DBO. 14, 1908.

Patented Mar. 15,1910. 1

narran srnfras Parana: onrron.

GEORGE ALEXANDER MCINTIRE, OF .PORT CHESTER NEWYORK, ASSIGNOR TO PER- FECTION WRENCH COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

WRENCH.

Specication of Letters Patent. Patented Mam, 159 191ml Application filed December 14, 1908. Serial No. 467,359.

.invented certain new and useful Improvements in XVrenches, of Whichthe following 1s a specification,reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings, which form a part thereof. j

My invention relates to wrenches and more particularly to improvements in a wrench of the general type patented to me in andby Letters Patent of the United States, No. 858,357, dated under June 25th, 1907. Under most conditions of use, jaws of wrenches of this type will be set suiiciently hard to cause a substantial binding of the locking mechanism, thus making the release of the jaws diilicult by reason of the strength necessary to be exerted and the inaccessibility of the operating handle.

The main object of my invention is to provide in a wrench of this character a simple, and convenient attachment for disengaging the members of the locking mechanism from cach other, and thus permit the free oscillation ofthe operating handle to accomplish a full disengagement -of the jaws from the work.

A further Objectis to provide such an attachment adjacent to the operating handle when the jaws are set, not only in order that the jaws may be released by the thumb of the operator, while the operating lever is under control, but thatthe leverage of the operating handle may be utilized to eect this release.

A stil-l further object is to provide such an attachment which will multiply the force applied thereto, and thus insure ease and reliability in the operation thereof.

Astill further object is to provide an attachment which, if desired, may be so applied to the wrench as to have the two-fold function of a releasing member for the jaw setting mechanism, and a 'pivot for connecting one toggle lever to the oscillating block, thus reducing the number of parts. nd a still further object` is to provide in a wrench of this character, a throw oit, or jaw releasing mechanism, which will reverse the operation of setting the jaws through the same mechanism, thus utilizing the same mechanism for both setting andl releasing the jaws. .y

The invention consists in the combination in a wrench of a fixed jaw and a movable jaw, an oscillating lever, means actuated by said lever whereby said jaws may beset and locked, and a releasing attachment acting on said lever; and in such other novel features of construction and combination of parts as'are hereinafter set forth and described and more particularly pointed out in the claims Ahereto appended.

Referring to the drawings z-Figure l is a side elevation of a -wrench embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section thereof; Fig. 3 is a side elevation on a larger scale showing the end of the handle, the operating lever, the resilient and rigid abutments, and the releasing attachment. Fig. 4c is an end view of the parts shown in Fig. 3, and Fig. 5 is an end sectional View of the handle showing a moditied form of the releasing, or throw 01T attachment.

Like letters refer to like parts throughout the severalviews.

In the drawings, a indicates the xed'jaw, and a its shank. Mounted'on the shank a is the.4 sliding jaw b with its rack bar b. The friction spring carried by the sliding jaw 5 for preventing the jamming of the said jaw on the shank a and its return with the clutch mechanism, is shownat c.' The shank a has a chamber a2 and oppositely disposed elongated slots a3 to permit the feeding movement of the sleeve cl. The clutchv -mechanism comprises a. spring pressed pawl f carried by a pivot pin e mounted in the sleeve d, and adapted to automatically engage the rack b which pin also acts as a pivot for the oscillating lever handle e. The vpawl f has Y an eccentric locking pin f positioned forwardly of the pin e and controlled by the lever handle f2, by means of which the pawl may b e'locked in engagement with the rack bar b by preventing an upward movement of said pawl. The pin is for disengaging the pawl f from the rack'bar when the sleeve d is moved toward said pin,

, eeaove to prevent the backward movement of the jaw with said sleeve, and to permit the sliding 'jaw if desired, to be set by hand.

Seated in a way in the shank a is a reciprocating block g seated between a fixed forward stop g and a sti spring g2 bearing against the end of the said way. This spring g2 causes the sliding jaw to be fed forward under its tension only until the resistance encountered by the jaw overcomes the same, a rigid abutment g3 being used to lock the jaws and exert the nal pressure. To vary this pressure the abutment g3 takes the form of an adjusting screw. l

To secure the desired feedingmovement 4through the lever'e and pawl f, I employ a toggle lever L one end of which is plvotedintermediate the ends of theleverby the pivot Il,2 and the other end of which is connected to the block g by means of the pivot L. The pivots e and la are always in substantial alinement.

The casing z' not only forms a protected way for the bar b', but acts as a base for use when the tool is used as a lifting jack.

The lever c is reciprocated against the tension of the spring j and is returned by said spring when relieved from pressure, or released in the manner to be hereinafter described.

Any type of jaws, interchangeable or otherwise,may be used with the tool, as this invention is not directed in any way to such jaws, those shown in the accompanying drawings being old and well known in the art.

The spring pressed holding pawl n maybe thrown into or out of engagement with the rack bar b by means of the pin o, eccentric of and the lever handle-02 carried by said eccentric.

In this wrench, the jaw I) is fed forward intermittently by means of the'toggle lever e, z., through the oscillating handle of the former, the sleeve d carrying the paw] f sliding on the shank a. Up to the period of the engagement of the jaw with the work, this feeding movement is accomplished against the tension of the spring g2, but thereafter the forward thrust of the lever e' and sleeve l d is checked, and the spring g2 compressed,

' final pressure exerted,

to compensate for the subsequent movement of the lever handle. As the Alevers e la are brought into substantial alinement with each other, the block g will engage the rigid stop g3 which may be adjusted to regulate the and be locked against a return of the handle under thesprlng j. This locking will be in part through a frictional binding of parts, and in part through the dropping of the pivot connecting the levers e h below the center of the pivots e it. When so locked, it requires considerable strength to'release the reciprocating lever handle'so -as to permit the jaws to be sepa'- rated, and great difficulty is encountered when the work is somewhat inaccessible. To obviate this yditiiculty, I provide means acting directly on the oscillating lever handle, whereby the long leverage afforded by said handle may be utilized to throw said handle away from the shank a to overcome that friction holding the lever in the closed position. yIn the preferred form of the inventi m showninEigs. l to 3, this means consists of a pluralityof eccentrics p having a flat face as shown in the drawings formed on the pivot L, in substantial engagement with, or in close juxtaposition to whiehthe lever handle e is forced to lock the jaws. Said pivot at one end projects beyond the casingz' and extendinggiownwardly from said end is a long leverfi handle p. This handle p fits close to the casing z' so as to be out of the way of t-he hand in operating the handle e and extends toward the jaws so as to be conveniently reached by the thumb while the hand is grasping the end of the wrench. I provide stops p2 2, limiting the movement of the lever handle p and stops 793 p3 acting as a latch to hold the lever handle p against movement when in the open or the closed i position.

It will be observed that the force applied at the pivot h2 is at a long leverage, the eccentrics acting on the lever handle e adjacent to the end thereof. Incidentally, the short leverage at which the eccentrics p act, and the length of their lever handle pounds the leverage that the handle e may be thrown upward readily.

In the modification shown in Fig. 5, I

p', so com'- l mount -an eccentric or cam Q on the end of i the casingz' directly below the end of the oscillating lever handle e so that when said lever is depressed to the full extent to lock the jaws, it will contact therewith or come into close juxtaposition thereto. This eccentric or cam Q has a handle g extending beyond the casing z' by means of which the eccentric or cam may be turned. lVhile broadly considered, this cam `g is the equivalent of the eccentrics p, the latter is preferable as affording greatenleverage and being more conveniently located.

The operation of the preferred form of the invention in so far as has not heretofore been described is as follows: Beforel the jaws a b are locked upon the work, the handle p is swung into the position shown in full lines Fig. 1, bringing the flat faces of the eccentrics p arallel to the shank a. As the lever han rle is brought downward to lock the jaws itjwill come to rest directly upon or above said faces. When it is desired to release the jawsl the handle p is swung downwardly by the thumb of the hand holding the;I wrench if desired. The

force thus applied is transferred directly to the pivot h2 through the lever handle e, the

ilo"

essere eccentrics or cams p and the lever handle p. The short radius of the cams or eccentrics interposed between the two longer levers compounds the forceand insures ease in the operation of the throw oif.

The operation of the modification shown in Fig. 5 is substantially the same as that of the preferred form differing therefrom in that the cam q cannot be turned with the same hand that holds thetool, and the shorter radiusof the operating lever handle affording less leverage.` The latter is compensated for in part, however, by the greater leverage at which the handle e acts. When ,the cams or eccentrics have thrown 4the toggle lever ott' center, the spring j will accomplish the further release, by actuating the handle so as to either'release the'pawl f or draw the jaw backward with it.

In the use of the tool, care need be exercised to position the cams or eccentrics p g so that they will not block the locking of the aws.

J When it is desired to vuse the wrench as a lifting jack, the eccentrics p q may be so set as to prevent the locking of the jaws, thus facilitating the use of the tool in this manner. v

It is not my intention tolimit the invention to the specific form of wrench, no1' to the detailed construction and arrangements of parts shown in the drawings, it being apparent that such details may be varied without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to have protected by Letters Patent, is l l. A wrench comprising a iXed jaw, a movable jaw, an oscillatingfr lever, means actuated by said lever, adapted to operatively 'engage and set said movable jaw, a toggle lever carrying the fulcrum for said oscillating lever, means limiting the movement of said toggle lever whereby said movable jaw will be set and locked when 'said toggle and said oscillating levers are alined, and a movable releasing member adapted to throw said levers out of alinement and release said movable jaw.

2. A wrench comprising a fixed jaw, a movable jaw, an oscillating lever, means actuated by said lever adapted to operatively engage and set said movable jaw, a toggle lever carrying'` the fulcrum for said oscillating lever, means limiting the movement of4 said toggle lever whereby said `movable jaw will be set and locked when said toggle and said'oscillating levers are alinedand a positively acting member of short radius acting on along radius of said oscillating leyler, whereby said levers will be thrown out of alinement to release said movable jaw', and the releasing power will be compounded.

movable jaw, an oscillating lever, means actuated by Said lever, whereby said jaws may be set and locked, a cam adapted to act on f said lever to release the jaws and a lever handle whereby said cam may be turned.

A4. A wrench comprising a fixed jaw having a shank, a sliding jaw mounted'on said shank, a sliding clutch mechanism mounted on said shank and adapted to enga e said sliding jaw, a lever handle pivotaly connected with said clutch mechanism, a tog le lever carried by -said shank and pivota 1y connected to said lever handle, means limiting the movement of said toggle lever whereby said movable jaw will be set and locked when said toggle lever and said lever handle are alined, and a movable releasing member mounted on said shank and adapted to act positively on said lever handle to throw said toggle lever and said lever handle outl of alinement to release said sliding jaw.

5. A wrench comprising a fixed jaw having a shank provided with, a way therein, a sliding jaw mounted on said shank, a sliding clutch mechanism mounted on said shankand adapted to engage said sliding jaw, a lever handle pivotally connected to said clutch mechanism, a rigid butter carried by said shank, a reciprocating block mounted in said way, a toggle lever having its opposite ends pivotally connected to said lever handle and said block respectively whereby when said lever handle and said toggle lever are alined or past the point of alinement, the sliding jaw will be set and locked, and a movable releasing member pivotally mounted on said shank and adapted to act positively on said lever handle to throw said toggle lever out of alinement to release sai sliding-jaw.

6. A wrench comprising a fixed aw, having a shank provided with a way, a sliding jaw mounted on said shank, a sliding clutch mechanismmounted on said shank, and adapted to engage said sliding jaw, a lever handle pivotally connected with said clutch mechanism, a rigid butler carried by said shank, a reciprocating block mounted in said way, a toggle lever, two pivots connecting the opposite ends of said toggle lever with said lever handle, and said block respectively, a plurality of cams or eccentrics tormedv on said pivot in said blockadapted to engage said lever handle and a lever handle whereby said cam or eccentric may be turned to'act as a throw oli to said first mentioned lever handle. Q

7. A wrench comprising a fixed jaw having a shank providedwith a way, a sliding jaw mounted on said shank, a sliding clutch mechanism mounted on said shank and adapted to engage said sliding jaw, a lever handle pivotally connected with .said clutch mechanism, a-casing carried by said shank,

llt,

a rigid louder carried by said shank, a recpl yried by said casing whereby the throw of rocatng block mounted in Said way, a-toggle Said last mentioned lever handle is limited, lever,'p1vots connecting the opposite ends of and is held against accidental movement.

said toggle lever with said lever handle and l In witness whereof I have hereunto 'atixed 15 Said block respectively, a pluralityv of cam my signature, this 18th dayof November, surfaces or elcentres formed on sail pivot in 1908, in the presence of two witnesses.

said block` a a te to enffave said ever handle, a levier hndle whietloy said cams or GEORGE ALEXANDER MCDTIRL eccontrics may be turned to act aS a throw off to said {i1-st mentioned lever and a plurality of stops and a plurality of latches carlVitnesses DANIEL E. KELLY, MAE FITZGIBBONS. 

